New Harlem Hotel To Replace Demolished Church, Plans Show

HARLEM, NY — A 10-story hotel will be built on the former site of a dilapidated, cash-strapped Central Harlem church, according to newly filed plans — becoming the latest Harlem house of worship to seek a new home after cashing in on its valuable property.

Developer Michael Bauer filed plans with the city on Wednesday to construct the 46-room hotel at 18 West 116th St., between Fifth Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard.

The lot has sat empty since last year, when workers tore down the century-old Baptist Temple Church building: a former synagogue that had occupied the site since 1906. The building was partially demolished in 2009 due to structural damage, and sat vacant for years afterward.

The church sold its property for $6.7 million in 2018 to Harlem-based developers Carthage Real Estate Advisors. In a court filing seeking state approval for the sale, Baptist Temple said it would get a new, 12,000-square-foot house of worship in the new building, which was slated to be a multi-story condominium.

At the time, Baptist Temple said it lacked the "financial means" to renovate the decaying 116th Street church, and was renting a temporary space on West 153rd Street from the nonprofit Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement.

In the ensuing years, the planned condo building was never built, and Wednesday's filing suggests that the project has been replaced by the hotel.

The new plans describe a 28,000-square-foot hotel space, as well as a 6,900-square-foot "community facility" to be used as a house of worship. Bauer did not immediately respond to questions about whether Baptist Temple would be returning to the site.

While the applicant for the new building is Bauer, of the firm Borough Equities, the application states that Carthage is still the site's "actual owner." The company has built a number of other projects around Harlem, including an 18-story rental tower on West 124th Street.

As churches face declining attendance and mounting financial difficulties, many houses of worship across Harlem have opted in recent years to sell their buildings to real estate developers — often working out deals to return to the site once a new building is constructed there.

Some of those deals have been plagued by alleged misconduct. As Patch reported last month, authorities say that three religious leaders took secret payments when they helped sell six Harlem churches to developer Moujan Vahdat — who then reneged on his promises to build new houses of worship.

Related coverage: Harlem Clergy Took Secret Cash As They Sold Churches To Developer: AG

Have a Harlem news tip? Contact reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.